"Fellow Daoist Gongming, you are an Orthodox God of the Heavenly Court. You should understand heaven's will. The Heavenly Emperor has issued an Imperial Edict: Shang shall fall and Zhou shall rise, and no living being of the Ten Thousand Clans may defy it. Why, then, are you here obstructing Jiang Ziya's eastward march?" Standing on an auspicious cloud ahead of the Twelve Golden Immortals, Ran Deng stroked his beard and demanded an answer from Zhao Gongming.
Zhao Gongming was different from Kong Xuan. Kong Xuan was the son of the Primordial Phoenix and possessed innate spiritual energy of the five elements, which he had cultivated into the extraordinarily powerful Five-Colored Divine Light. Although the Heavenly Emperor had conferred a high divine rank on Zhao Gongming, his abilities surely could not surpass Kong Xuan's. At most, he would be on par with Golden Roc. An opponent like that was nothing to fear.
That was what Ran Deng thought.
Hearing Ran Deng's challenge, Zhao Gongming, who had just cursed them inwardly, sneered. "I already said that I came here not to stop the Zhou Army from attacking King Zhou, but to demand justice from your Expounding Teaching. Nothing more. So, Ran Deng, don't try to pin that grand accusation on me. I won't accept it!"
"Boundless Heavenly Venerable! Your disciples previously acted against heaven, stubbornly insisting on protecting Shang and obstructing Zhou. We had no choice but to obey heaven's will and slay them. Fellow Daoist Gongming, please be understanding!" A glint flashed in Ran Deng's eyes when Zhao Gongming refused to wear the label of defying heaven, and he offered his explanation with a smile.
"Hmph! Even if disciples of my Jiejiao have committed wrongdoing, it is for our Sect Leader to punish them! If they have defied heaven, the